Boulevard photos of early Stryker bring back memories

     Some donated photos spurred SAHC Trustees to see what could be remembered about the boulevard that ran down the middle of South Defiance Street.
     There was a cannon that used to sit in the boulevard, believed to be facing south. It is also believed that there was a group of cannonballs next to it.
     Trustees were hoping that they would be able to find a photo of the boulevard to answer the questions about the cannon and cannonballs.
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     SAHC President Terry Perkins has two postcards of the boulevard. The one shown above is looking north. The 1912 school can be seen a bit between the trees on the left.
     It was thought that perhaps the small black spot above the sign might be a part of the cannon.
     However, when that section of the photo was enlarged, as seen to the left, it showed the piece was actually part of the sign. It appears to hold a globe above the sign.
     It promoted speculation that the globe may have been a light at night, maybe so people wouldn’t run into it with their Model T.
     The blown up section helps us be able to read a portion of the sign. It says “PUBLIC SCHOOL” at the top and underneath that it says “DRIVE SLOW.”
     The rest of the sign is too difficult to read (Can anyone else help us out?).
     Also on the left of the sign in front of the school, there is what appears to be a white stone or monument. That section of the photo was also blown up and is shown on the right.
     The Trustees are unsure about what that might be as well. Perhaps one of our Stryker natives can assist us with that.
     Mr. Perkins also has a postcard showing the boulevard looking south.
     The printing of that card is considerably different and is much more difficult to expand.
     In it, it is easy to see the brick street in the bottom lower left of the photo, some people enjoying a stroll on the right hand side with the spire of the Methodist church showing in the background.
     It also shows the sign on the north end of the boulevard. It is presumably the same as the one on the south end, and it also appears to have a globe at the top.
     But while there was no cannon or cannonballs in this photo either, the mystery of the artillery piece was solved.
     Several people came forward who told us they remember a cannon sitting in the boulevard, which prompted a trip by the late Rose Burkholder, a SAHC Trustee, to the library in Bryan for a look in their photo archives.
     Sure enough, there was a photo of the cannon. It turns out it was a German cannon from the “War to End All Wars - WWI.”
     Actually, the library had a photo that had been cut out of the Bryan Times, showing the cannon from bygone days.
     The caption underneath the photo says,
“STRYKER - This World War I cannon was located in the grassy median strip (boulevard) that existed for many years down the center of Stryker's South Defiance Street. The cannon, which sat just south of Short Street, likely was melted down for scrap during World War II. (Photo courtesy of the Williams County Public Library Photographic Archives)”
     Rose was excited by her find, but, alas, she turned the photo all around and no cannonballs were anywhere to be seen.
     We have been told there were cannonballs that sat next to the cannon. They would not have been for the WWI cannon, but more likely of Civil War vintage.
     So, Rose asked the kind people from the library if she could get a scan of the cannon so we could run a nice clean picture of it on the website.
     They searched back and found the negative. Guess who they got it from? Stryker Area Heritage Council Trustee Fred Grieser! If only we had started with Fred!
     So, here it is for all who remember the cannon in the boulevard!